Well, we lose out again. After many years of selling hybrids, Lexus has finally gone all-electric with the upcoming UX 300e. The compact crossover is the brands first to run exclusively on battery power.But rather than unveiling it at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where we saw the Mustang Mach-E, Chevrolet EV pickup, and Tesla Cybertruck break cover, Lexus chose a show in Guangzhou, China.Thats because the UX 300e is only planned for China, Europe and Japan. Lexus Canada confirmed it won’t be sold in North America. (Lexus sells hybrids in Canada, as does Toyota, but neither has had an all-electric vehicle up until now.)And we cant figure how a nimble little luxury sport-ute, perfectly sized for the city and with no tailpipe out the back, wouldnt be a slam-dunk on our shores. Instead, Lexus Electrified, the companys global electrification strategy, will start with the UX 300e overseas next year.But that said, a closer look reveals a model that isn’t about performance. Lexus even says it will have natural-yet-brisk acceleration character, which doesnt exactly translate into pushes you into the back seat.Its 54.3-kWh battery puts it below other premium brands: Audis e-tron is 95 kWh and Mercedes-Benzs ECQ is 85 kWh. Even the Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan Leaf Plus have bigger batteries.The UX 300e makes 221 lb.-ft. of torque below the Leaf Plus 250 lb.-ft., or the 266 laid down by the Bolt. Audi and Mercedes-Benz scream by it at 413 and 560 lb.-ft. respectively. When its time to top up, the UX 300e has a fast-charge capacity of just 50 kW, while the e-tron rates as high as 150 kW.All of that might be understandable if the UX 300e went forever on a charge, but that doesnt seem to be the case either. Lexus claims 400 kilometres but thats on NEDC (New European Driving Cycle), an outdated method that can be more than 25 per cent more generous than how electric vehicles are rated here.Doing the math and assuming the UX 300e nets 300 km in Canadas tests, were still looking at 363 km for the Leaf Plus, and more than 400 for the Bolt. For the higher performers here, the e-trons estimated at 328 km, and the EQC at 360 km.Of course, we have to account for the largest factor in all of this North Americans. Specifically, our neighbours to the south, who usually eschew pint-sized in favour of portly when it comes to vehicles, and who buy enough automobiles to dictate our market. The UX 300e is probably the right size and the right power for its target markets overseas. Were guessing the next Lexus Electrified will probably be an RX, with a bigger battery and more power for
Origin: Lexus unveils its first all-electric vehicle — but Canada won’t get it
won’t
Texas tuners build the Ranger Raptor that Ford won’t sell here
Its an open secret that your author has been pushing Ford to bring a version of the mighty Ranger Raptor to these shores. With GM taking a big slice of the mid-size off-road pie with the Colorado ZR2 and ZR2 Bison, the Blue Oval must surely know its leaving money on the table. Thats without mentioning the Tacoma TRD Pro and its ilk.Where the Glass House has fallen down, a Texas-based tuner has picked it up. PaxPower, a speed house out of Houston, has unveiled a 350-hp Ranger with plenty of off-road goodies at this years SEMA show in Las Vegas. A common cop-out Fords offered as to why the Ranger Raptor isnt in North American showrooms is the presence of a weak-sauce 2.0-litre diesel engine making just 210 horsepower. While it is true this mill would not satisfy customers in this region, PaxPower has proven a Raptor-like Ranger can be built around this markets 2.3L EcoBoost engine, thank you very much. Tuned to about 350 horsepower, this clever girl will surely outrun most of the other creatures in the jungle.Starting with a current-model Ranger FX4, PaxPower adds OEM Raptor body panels to the fenders, bedsides and most obviously the front fascia. Those bumpers are custom-fabricated, though, and offer approach and departure angles better than any stock Ranger could ever dream. Toyo R/T rubber sets a just-right stance.None of this show would be of any use without a bit of off-road go, so the company installed a prerunner long-travel suspension setup from BajaKits to pair with King 2.5 front coilovers and rear shocks. Specific front and rear suspension travel isnt mentioned but it surely matches or beats the overseas Ranger Raptor measures of 32-per-cent and 18-per-cent increases over a standard Ranger.Like it? Me, too. Since the crew at Ford seem paralyzed on this issue, one can head over to PaxPower to spend their
Origin: Texas tuners build the Ranger Raptor that Ford won’t sell here
Autocar confidential: Citroen says comfort is crucial, Fiat won’t downsize and more
As we flick through our notes this week, we learn why Fiat won’t make a Renault Twizy rival, why the new Evoque will attract more buyers than its predecessor, and more. Fiat stays full-sized Despite its expertise in small cars, Fiat will not make a quadricycle-based city car such as the Renault Twizy or Seat Minimo (pictured), according to boss Olivier François. “They answer a need because 16-year-olds can drive them,” he said, “but they won’t help (EU) CO2 (fleet) targets as quadricycles aren’t counted. Evoque has room for improvement Some 60% OF Evoque customers are conquests from other brands, but Land Rover marketing boss Anthony Bradbury reckons that figure will rise even higher with the second-generation version. Referencing the old model’s shortage of space, he said: “That was one reason the car was rejected by some, so now that’s been addressed, this gives us another chance in conquest audience.” Citroen’s lounging around Citroen boss Linda Jackson believes the impending rise of autonomous systems will reward the firm’s key focus on comfort. “There aren’t many manufacturers talking primarily about comfort, and if we’re going to be spending more time in our cars, it has to be friendly and comfortable,” she
Origin: Autocar confidential: Citroen says comfort is crucial, Fiat won’t downsize and more
Florida man parks Smart car in kitchen so Dorian won’t blow it away
A Florida man parked his Smart car in his kitchen to protect it from Hurricane Dorian.In a Facebook post, Jessica Eldridge said her husband Patrick Eldridge was afraid his car might blow away so he parked it in their Jacksonville homes kitchen. She wrote on Tuesday that their other car is parked in the garage.Dorian is skirting Floridas coast, narrowly missing Jacksonville as it heads northward along the Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina coastlines.The Category 2 storm has devastated the Bahamas, where rescue crews have only begun taking the full measure of the
Origin: Florida man parks Smart car in kitchen so Dorian won’t blow it away
Dealership creates the convertible Challenger that Dodge won’t
A North Carolina dealership has created the Challenger convertible that Dodge wont build from the factory.Ford and Chevrolet have convertible versions of their modern pony cars, but Dodge has never personally stepped up to the game and created its own, and its seeming more unlikely as the platform ages.Tired of waiting, Keffer Dodge, Chrysler, Ram and Jeep sent three Challengers off to a shop named Convertible Builders in Florida, which chopped off the top and added a soft fabric version that opens and closes with the push of a button.According to Motor Authority, the conversions were done to a standard Challenger and two R/T Scat Pack models, one fitted with the 485-horsepower 6.4-litre HEMI V8; and the other with a 5.7-litre V8 that makes 375 horsepower. All three come with automatic transmissions for optimum cruising.The gray, white, and red cars are listed at US$64,000, US$60,000 and US$56,300, respectively. That means that the conversion of the vehicle to convertible costs about US$16,000 on top of the base price of an automatic Challenger.Theres no telling what Convertible Builders has done to improve the structural integrity of the Challenger so it can handle the loss of a roof, but from the name of its shop, we can guess this isnt their first rodeo. Perhaps in the future, these conversions will even be seen as a classic move, and command a premium for their
Origin: Dealership creates the convertible Challenger that Dodge won’t
Buying a new car? A pre-delivery inspection of your own won’t hurt
In this file photo, Anthony Gordon looks at a Ford Focus ST on the showroom floor at a Ford AutoNation car dealership on September 4, 2013 in North Miami, Florida.Joe Raedle / Getty Images Rating right up there with admin fee as the most questioned and despised item your new cars invoice, pre-delivery inspections (PDI) vary with each automaker and can sometimes leave out crucial items. To be fair, some companies cover the cost of a final vehicle inspection and reimburse retailers for the task, but no matter who pays for it, it needs to be done thoroughly.Smart consumers are wise to obtain a copy of the PDI checklist and take a small amount of time to complete a walkaround to verify the surface items, a.k.a. those that dont require a hoist or special equipment. Theyre written in fairly plain language and usually involve operating switches, doors, seatbelts, and a variety of controls to ensure proper operation. Duplicating the technicians road-test is a great way to detect any unusual noises, vibrations, or any glitches in performance.The first problem with a PDI is when theyre performed. Some retailers complete these inspections as soon as the vehicle is delivered from the manufacturer; that vehicle can remain in stock, sitting stationary for months until its sold and delivered. Some, but not all retailers will pay for an additional inspection if the car sat for too long, but even these seldom cover all the details of the factory-supplied checklist, and theyre usually performed by unlicensed staff. If a cars sat on the lot for too long, heres what can sometimes be missed.Overinflated tiresMost automakers recommend their retailers inflate tires on vehicles to be stored in inventory to their maximum pressure, even if its above the vehicle specs. This is to reduce the risks of tires developing flat spots from sitting for too long. Of course, the tires are to be returned to normal pressures before you take delivery, but this can often be missed and riding on overinflated tires can lead to premature wear.Wheel alignmentWheel alignments are never verified. When you consider the stress most vehicle suspension systems endure during transport being chained down tight to carrier platforms, whether its on a truck or a train its no wonder alignment specs can be out before you hit your first pothole. Automakers are loathe to pay for an alignment inspection without a recorded customer complaint, so its not going too far to ask for an alignment check before taking delivery. If dealership and factory processes dictate the vehicle must be delivered first, then simply make an appointment a few weeks down the road.Windshield wipersWipers can suffer from lot-rot. When wiper blade edges are stuck on hot windshield glass, they can quickly lose their streak-free cleaning ability. Its important to check them in a variety of wet and dry conditions as most carmakers only cover wipers for the first year or 20,000 kilometres, whichever comes
Origin: Buying a new car? A pre-delivery inspection of your own won’t hurt
Tesla won’t be updating the Model S or X any time soon
Most vehicles get an “update” every few years, with brands making not-insignificant edits to the interior or exterior – or both – in order to keep models, well, up-to-date. But contrary to rumours circulated earlier this year saying Tesla was cooking up a fall 2019 interior update with premium seats, along with an improved higher-capacity battery, CEO Elon Musk said the company will instead just let the Model S and Model X ride another year.If you’ve been holding your breath for a refreshed model, go ahead and exhale. The 48-year-old exec Tweeted “There is no ‘refreshed’ Model X or Model S coming, only a series of minor ongoing changes” in a reply to a question from a Twitter user.There is no “refreshed” Model X or Model S coming, only a series of minor ongoing changes. Most significant change in past few years was to use high efficiency Model 3 rear drive unit as S/X front drive unit. That went into production 3 months ago. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 9, 2019When the same Twitter user – whose bio, we’d be amiss to point out, reads “Cat Walker | Dog Observer | Creative Director” – replied asking if the Model X would get an “interior revamp,” Musk simply said “no.”The last time the Model S got a considerable update was the first time it got a considerable update. It was born in 2012, and got a new air filtration system, an upgraded on-board charger, a new fascia and an additional pair of wood interior trims in 2016. Meanwhile, Tesla is on track for a record quarter, thanks to increased sales of the Model 3.
Origin: Tesla won’t be updating the Model S or X any time soon
Autocar confidential: Hyundai won’t be caught short, BMW ends its ‘Gran Tour’ and more
In this week’s collection of motoring murmurs, we hear why BMW isn’t building another B-Class rival, how Hyundai is ready for any market eventuality, and more. Munich’s MPVs make way for high-riders Don’t expect to see a replacement for BMW’s 2 Series Active Tourer and seven-seat Gran Tourer, at least for some time. BMW’s product management vice-president, Peter Henrich, claims the current MPVs have “done an excellent job in bringing new customers to our brand” but are now “not at the centre of what our brand today stands for”. “We will see about moving Gran Tourer customers to our SUVs,” he added. Volkswagen tightens its grip on power Volkswagen sales boss Jürgen Stackmann says the firm has no concerns over battery supply limiting its ability to produce 100,000 ID 3 electric cars per year from 2020 onwards. Some car firms are struggling to secure enough batteries to meet demand, but Stackmann said VW’s supply was secure “as far as you have security in life and business. We will have stable and good supply for the volumes we want to build.” Volvo grabs the green pump Volvo won’t follow Mercedes down the diesel hybrid route, according to UK operations director David Baddeley. “There will either be petrol, petrol hybrid or full battery electric,” he said. “Go back two or three years and we were 98% diesel in the UK. Now we are 60% diesel and moving quickly. You’ve got to anticipate these changes.” Hyundai: Fail to prepare, prepare to fail… New Hyundai UK boss Ashley Andrew claims the allure of the brand is that it has “completely future-proofed itself, whichever way it goes” in terms of powertrains. “If the market goes towards battery-electric vehicles, we have them; if it goes towards hydrogen quickly, we’ve got that. Not only that, we’ve got the intellectual
Origin: Autocar confidential: Hyundai won’t be caught short, BMW ends its ‘Gran Tour’ and more
News Roundup: Double dose of FCA controversy, banged up Bugatti, and Teslas fires that just won’t go out
Flags are lowered at half staff at the FCA headquarters in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, July, 25, 2018. Sergio Marchionne, a charismatic and demanding CEO who engineered two long-shot corporate turnarounds to save both Fiat and Chrysler from near-certain failure, died Wednesday. He was 66. The holding company of Italian automaker Fiats founders, the Agnelli family, announced Marchionne had died after complications from surgery in Zurich. At Fiat Chrysler Automobiles headquarters in the Italian town of Turin, flags flew at half-mast, while in Rome the parliamentary committee for labor and finance observed a minute of silence.Alessandro Di Marco / The Associated press Welcome to our weekly round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam. Here’s what you missed while you were away. Fiat Chrysler pulls out of merger proposal with Renault After being unable to agree on terms of the deal, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has withdrawn its proposal for a 50/50 merger with Renault. The agreement could have formed the world’s third-largest automaker after VW and Toyota, but according to FCA, the French State, which owns 15 per cent of Renault, was showing signs of hesitation (likely stemming from Nissan’s hesitation), prompting FCA to release a statement saying, “It has become clear that the political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully.” Honda CR-V damages Tracy Morgan’s $2-million Bugatti minutes after it’s delivered Tracy Morgan’s Bugatti Veyron in a fender-bender with a Honda CR-V Twitter @J_MOSK Talk about comedic timing. Mere moments after comedian and former SNL cast member Tracy Morgan got behind the wheel of his new (though technically used) Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport convertible, the $2-million vehicle was struck and scraped at an intersection by a Honda CR-V. The driver of the CR-V was allegedly on her phone while trying to make a right turn from the left lane. Nobody was hurt, so feel free to laugh or cry. FCA North American exec files “whistleblower” suit over SEC probe Reid Bigland (Dario Ayala/THE GAZETTE) In other scandalous automotive news, Reid Bigland, FCA’s head of U.S. sales and top boss in Canada, is filing a “whistleblower” lawsuit against the automaker for allegedly cutting his pay by 90 per cent after he gave testimony in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into FCA sales reporting practices. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages, claiming the company unjustly cost Bigland over US$1.8 million in bonus and stock payout. The drastic measures firefighters take to put out and keep out a Tesla fire Sure, we all love a good electric car fire — it’s the new best thing to watch on the Internet (sorry goats in pajamas). But what about for the firefighters who have to extinguish them after the content gold has been captured? Less entertaining, especially considering the cars have been known to reignite up to six days later—a stunt traditional gas-powered cars can’t pull—often requiring fire squadrons to submerge the heavy vehicles in tanks of water for days at a time. BMW demands full payment after Youtuber modifies his financed M4 BMW fan and Youtuber Rickardo “Ricky” Senior, who had a hybrid turbo, upgraded exhaust and methanol injection added to his recently financed BMW M4, bumping up the horsepower figure to over 700, recently learned the hard way why making changes to a product you don’t fully own can be unwise. Because while he views the mods as “upgrades,” BMW sees them as just the opposite, claiming he’s breached the terms of his Personal Contract Purchase and demanding he pay up in full, and soon. “If I don’t make the payment for this car by next week, they’re threatening to recover the vehicle and probably auction the car off and bill me for the remainder of what’s left of the debt,” he told his Youtube, LivingLifeFast. Let’s all learn from Ricky’s ordeal. Europe to ban Camaro SS and Chevy Corvette sales Europe has spoken. The hearty American 6.2-litre LT1 V8 engine found in the C7 Corvette and sixth-generation Camaro SS simply will not do! To satisfy new emissions goals, both the European Union and the U.K. will instate a ban on sales of any Chevy with the V8 as of August 31, 2019. Sales of the used cars will still be permitted. European availability for the upcoming C8 remains up in the air. Quebec has been going HAM with the vanity plates. These are our faves so far This Porsche makes us wonder what is DADTOY1 Montreal Vanity Plate Spotting / Facebook It’s been just nine months since the province of Quebec changed the rules to allow for the use of vanity plates, and since then over 26,000 of the $250 pieces of rectangular metal have been sold by the SAAQ. It seems Quebec drivers have a lot to say in 7 characters or less. Some of our
Origin: News Roundup: Double dose of FCA controversy, banged up Bugatti, and Teslas fires that just won’t go out
Exclusive: Government won’t reinstate plug-in hybrid grants
The UK government will not reinstate a grant for the purchase of new plug-in hybrid vehicles, Jesse Norman, Minister of State for the Department for Transport, has told Autocar. The grant was modified in October last year, with only electric vehicles qualifying for a £3500 subsidy. Previously, the subsidies for hybrid and electric vehicles ranged from £2500 to £4500, depending on the model’s zero-emissions range. “We have to spend the tax payers’ money in a way that reflects the changing market,” said Norman. “The evidence was very clear: owners of plug-in hybrids were not plugging them in, negating the environmental benefits and undermining the incentives. “Instead, our focus is very much on pushing battery electric vehicles. It is where we have to get to and where we can see the biggest benefits. If I look at the electric bicycle industry and how that has taken off and been opened up then I see great opportunity. Today you can buy an electric bike at Aldi for £500 – and that wasn’t the case a few years ago. “I expect the prices of electric cars to come down dramatically in the same way and I’m not prepared to spend tax payers’ money incentivising technology that doesn’t reflect this changing market.” Manufacturers of plug-in hybrid vehicles and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had vigorously campaigned for an incentive to be reintroduced, saying its withdrawal had damaged the transition to low emission vehicles. Last month sales of plug-in hybrids dropped 34 per cent to 1922 units, compared with 2929 last April when the incentive was still in place. While supply issues of the latest plug-in hybrids have been identified as one reason for this, SMMT chief Mike Hawes said the figures were also “evidence of the consequences of prematurely removing upfront purchase incentives before the market is ready.” Mitsubishi, maker of the best-selling Outlander PHEV presented evidence suggesting that UK owners of the car cover half their average weekly mileage in electric mode, substantially lessening the model’s environmental impact. Although Norman didn’t confirm if the government’s decision had been based on data from Holland, which indicated that many plug-in hybrid cars weren’t being charged, when asked about Mitsubishi’s UK-specific data he added: “I am not prepared to look back and make retrospective changes that undermine the benefits full battery-electric vehicles can bring.” Reports suggest the German government is on the cusp of raising its grant for full electric cars to €4000 (£3400) – a figure which must be matched by the selling manufacturer – on cars costing less than €30,000
Origin: Exclusive: Government won’t reinstate plug-in hybrid grants
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